ate of William; he had been the bearer of messages
between the disaffected in Scotland and Holland; and he was believed to
be concerned with Sir James Steuart (1635-1715) in the authorship of a
pamphlet--_An Account of Scotland's Grievances by reason of the D. of
Lauderdale's Ministrie, humbly tendered to his Sacred Majesty_.
Accordingly, on his return to England, at the close of 1674, he was
committed to the Tower; the following year he was transferred to
Edinburgh Castle, and it was not till August 1679 that he was released.
After this he visited Ireland, and then became pastor to a Nonconformist
congregation at Cheshunt. During 1682 he was in Holland, but in the
following year he was again in London, and was implicated in the Rye
House Plot. On its discovery he was examined before the Scottish
Council; though the torture of the thumb-screw was applied, he refused
to utter a word till he was assured that his admissions would not be
used in evidence, and in the disclosures he then made he displayed great
discretion. On his return to Holland he was rewarded by William's still
warmer friendship, and the post of court chaplain; and after the
Revolution he continued to hold this office, under the title of royal
chaplain for Scotland. He was the confidential adviser of the king,
especially with regard to Scottish affairs, and rendered important
service in promoting the Revolution Settlement. On the accession of
Anne, Carstares retained his post as royal chaplain, but resided in
Edinburgh, having been elected principal of the university. He was also
minister of Greyfriars', and afterwards of St Giles', and was four times
chosen moderator of the general assembly. He took an important part in
promoting the Union, and was consulted by Harley and other leading
Englishmen concerning it. During Anne's reign, the chief object of his
policy was to frustrate the measures which were planned by Lord Oxford
to strengthen the Episcopalian Jacobites--especially a bill for
extending the privileges of the Episcopalians and the bill for replacing
in the hands of the old patrons the right of patronage, which by the
Revolution Settlement had been vested in the elders and the Protestant
heritors. On the accession of George I., Carstares was appointed, with
five others, to welcome the new dynasty in the name of the Scottish
Church. He was received graciously, and the office of royal chaplain was
again conferred upon him. A few months after he was